Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 22, 2026

Modeling Encephalopathy of Prematurity Using Prenatal Hypoxia-ischemia with Intra-amniotic Lipopolysaccharide in Rats
Published on: November 20, 2015
Obstetric risk factors and persistent increases in brain parenchymal echogenicity in preterm infants
Arsenio Spinillo1, Alberto Chiara, Carola Bergante
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, IRCCS Policlinico S. Matteo, University of Pavia, Piazzale Golgi 2, 27100 Pavia, Italy.
Objective:
To assess the risk of persistent (>7 days) increases in brain parenchymal echogenicity in preterm infants and their association with known obstetric risk factors.
Design:
Case-control study of prospectively collected data.
Setting:
A University hospital in Northern Italy.
Population:
Eighty-five singleton infants between 24 and 34 weeks of gestation with a cranial ultrasonographic diagnosis of persistently increased parenchymal echogenicity without development of cystic degeneration, and 170 control infants with negative cranial ultrasonographic findings.
Methods:
A comparison of the prevalence of selected obstetric risk factors between infants with persistent echo-dense lesions and negative controls.
Main Outcome Measures:
Odds ratios of persistent echo-dense lesions including first-degree interactions between variables.
Results:
After adjusting for birthweight, logistic regression analysis showed that the only factor associated with an increased risk of persistent brain echo-dense lesions in infants was multiple courses of antenatal steroids (OR = 2.14, 95% CI = 1.11-4.15, P= 0.024). In this group, the risk of persistent echo-dense lesions was particularly high in: (i) mothers receiving dexamethasone rather than betamethasone (P value for interaction = 0.015) and (ii) after expectant management of pre-eclampsia or intrauterine growth retardation (P value for interaction = 0.03).
Conclusions:
Multiple doses of antenatal steroids, especially dexamethasone, could influence the prevalence of persistent increases in brain parenchymal echogenicity in preterm infants.
Related Concept Videos
Cerebral Edema ll: Pathophysiology
Increased Intracranial Pressure ll: Pathophysiology
Increased Intracranial Pressure l: Introduction
Cerebral Edema l: Introduction
Brain Abscess l: Introduction

